Castellammare – They're professional robbers, but on the afternoon of September 18, 2024, they acted like law enforcement officers. A perfectly staged operation, planned down to the smallest detail, capable of transforming an anonymous Wednesday of deliveries into a €2,5 million nightmare.
The target wasn't banknotes, but "Cupertino gold": a huge shipment of iPhone 16s, Apple Watches, and AirPods destined for megastores in Castellammare di Stabia.
Today, that surgical operation has names and faces. The Carabinieri of the Castellammare Company, coordinated by Captain Giuseppe De Lisa, have served precautionary custody orders on four veterans of the crime: Alfredo Migliaccio (62), Antonio Migliaccio (64), Michele Murolo (60), and the group's dean, 76-year-old Romeo Romano. A gang of "experts" between Casoria and Naples who, according to the Torre Annunziata Prosecutor's Office, could not have operated without an insider.
The Ford Puma Ambush
It all happens in a matter of minutes, just moments away from its destination. The courier is driving a Doblò Maxi loaded to the roof: inside are 1733 iPhone 16s, 455 Apple Pods, and 145 Apple Watches. The goods are almost at the megastore's warehouse when a Ford Puma cuts in front of the van, blocking every escape route.
Four men get out of the car. They wear surgical masks, hats pulled down over their eyes, and dark glasses. They display a service paddle and brandish a gun. "Carabinieri, pull over!" is the order that freezes the driver. This isn't a checkpoint, it's a kidnapping.
The driver is grabbed, tackled, and thrown into the back seat of the bandits' car, while one of his accomplices takes the wheel of the Doblò. The convoy disappears into thin air, leaving behind only the silence of a violated industrial zone. The hostage will be freed hours later in the Casalnuovo countryside, dazed but unharmed.
The direction of the "Basista": the missing piece
The investigation, led by investigating judge Emanuela Cozzitorto, now aims to get to the heart of the organization: who spoke out? For investigators, it's a mathematical certainty: a heist of this magnitude requires privileged information. Someone knew the exact contents of that Doblò, the time of departure from the logistics depot, and the precise route.
Two other individuals are under scrutiny. The first is under investigation at large, suspected of participating in the planning. The second is considered the link to the black market: the fence.
The prosecutor's office requested a precautionary measure for the latter, but the investigating judge issued a preliminary hearing before deciding. It was at the man's parents' home that the officers found part of the stolen goods, a sign that the storage network was already ready to dispose of the merchandise.
Money, cocaine and the parallel market
The investigation's figures reveal the scale of a criminal holding company. Before the Carabinieri reached them, the gang had already "placed" a significant portion of the loot, netting approximately €600.000. This dirty money would later be used to finance further heists throughout Italy, following a roving pattern of high-tech robberies.
But there's more. During the rapid searches immediately following the robbery, the Carabinieri officers found a veritable arsenal and a treasure trove of drugs: €140 in cash, 11 kilograms of ultra-pure cocaine, three pistols, and ammunition. These elements suggest that the iPhone theft was just one branch of a deep-rooted and dangerous criminal group.
The surveillance cameras provided the stills of the crime, but it is the telephone records and the shadowing that tell the story of a week of reconnaissance, of shadows studying the gates of the megastore waiting for the right moment to strike.
It all seemed strange to me: the courier was blocked, and then the four men said "Carabinieri," but it wasn't true; the scene seemed carefully planned, with secret telephones and an insider providing information. The phones disappeared within hours, and people thought it was a routine check.